The Power of a Pause: Embedding Ethical Guidance in Student–AI Interaction
Team name: Strategic Minds AI
Use of AI tools : Chat GPT, Copilot
Purpose of use:
Structuring and refining ideas
Improving clarity and academic writing
External feedback & contributions :
Name: Dr. Christelle Scharff
Role – Mentor / Professor: Prof. Christelle provided continuous mentorship, guidance, and feedback for us throughout the the project
Initial contribution: The Power of a Pause: Embedding Ethical Guidance in Student-AI Interaction
Final contribution:
Here's a link to our Final Contribution Document:
Reflection on the process (important)
Our proposal evolved significantly throughout Phase 2 as a result of discussions, peer comments, and expert feedback. Initially, the project focused primarily on academic integrity and ethical AI use. However, through debate and external feedback, we realized that the larger issue was not only misuse, but also the growing risk of passive learning and reduced critical engagement.
The proposal gradually shifted from an enforcement-oriented perspective toward a learning-centered and guidance-based framework.
Several comments strongly shaped the direction of our project:
Feedback from participants highlighted concerns regarding surveillance and student autonomy.
Discussions emphasized the importance of ensuring the tool supports learning rather than controlling students.
Questions regarding LMS integration, scalability, and student adoption encouraged us to strengthen implementation realism.
Comments regarding dependency and long-term learning behaviors pushed us to expand our focus beyond ethics into meaningful learning and cognitive engagement.
As a result of the feedback, we:
Strengthened the focus on meaningful learning rather than only academic integrity.
Expanded the discussion around cognitive engagement and critical thinking.
Added implementation considerations such as LMS integration and pilot testing.
Clarified that the system is intended as guidance rather than surveillance.
Improved the experimental design and evaluation framework, refined the proposal into a more research-oriented and actionable contribution.
The collaborative process significantly strengthened our proposal by exposing us to diverse perspectives regarding AI governance, pedagogy, ethics, and educational design. Peer discussions challenged our assumptions and encouraged us to think more critically about implementation, student behavior, and long-term impact.
As a result, the final proposal became more balanced, more realistic, more research-driven and more focused on preserving meaningful learning while supporting responsible AI integration in higher education.
Video pitch
Here's a link to our 1-minute video pitch presenting our work: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X_qA3oBdsHb90atnpc8lKHHXQlPsUvle/view
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